


You Are Enough (Coda 3x08)

by RavensCAT



Series: 9-1-1 Season 3 Codas [7]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: 3x08, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Eddie Diaz, BAMF Evan "Buck" Buckley, Buck gets kidnapped, Coda, Getting Together, Hurt Evan "Buck" Buckley, M/M, Protective Eddie Diaz, Sad Eddie Diaz, Worried Eddie Diaz, kinda dark in the middle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-30 19:51:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21433777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavensCAT/pseuds/RavensCAT
Summary: “I… I know it’s not like Buck to disappear like this but… but what if someone… what if someone took him…” Eddie chokes out.“What? Are you saying someone kidnapped Buck?” Athena asks in shock.“I… I might have not thought about the consequences of calling 9-1-1 at the cage fight.” Eddie growls. Those fighters were seriously pissed and they knew coming after him was going to have no effect. Fuck! He should’ve known better. Buck was right! His actions can have consequences on someone other than himself. Buck is paying for the consequences of his actions. Buck is in danger because of him, because he refused to listen.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Series: 9-1-1 Season 3 Codas [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1511429
Comments: 30
Kudos: 549





	You Are Enough (Coda 3x08)

**Author's Note:**

> Yes hello, i'm sorry it got long.
> 
> I edited this in a hurry so please ignore the mistakes. 
> 
> ENJOY. DON'T @ ME, jk @ me I love you all. 
> 
> TW: blood and violence (Not insanely graphic)

“Don’t do it, Diaz!” his cap yells. 

Eddie glances at him before dialing 9-1-1. He may be fighting to let out his anger but there is no way in hell he’s going to let someone die, especially when  _ he  _ could’ve prevented it. He doesn’t need that guilt on his hands overtop of everything else. 

*

“Shouldn’t have done that, Diaz,” one of the fighters says coming up to him after the first responders leave. 

Eddie watches as a couple other fighters come up to surround him. He rolls his eyes, “What? You guys gonna fight me for saving a life?” he asks, squaring his shoulders.

“We’re not here to save lives, Diaz. We’re here to fight and you just blew it for us! The cops know about this place now and there is no way we can come back.” the fighter spits, getting up in Eddie’s space.

“Okay, so you want to beat me to the ground? Do it then. You know it’s not going to end well for you. You know I can take all of you, even if you come at me together.”

The fighter knows he’s right so he gives Eddie a hard shove instead, “Don’t show your face here again! You’re done.” 

Eddie clenches his jaw and walks towards his truck. 

“Why’d you let him go, man? We could’ve taken him.” another one of the fighters asks. 

“We could’ve, but why waste our energy when we can just go for a weaker link?” he smirks turning to look at his crew, “Pretty boy needs a lesson.” 

*

When Eddie pulls up at his house the next night after the incident, Buck’s jeep is already parked in the driveway. He immediately knows that Bobby has told Buck what he’s been doing. He sighs, debating if he wants to just reverse back out and drive away, away from Buck, away from the lecture he no doubt is going to hear. He knows Buck isn’t going to stop until he says everything he needs to say to Eddie. He might as well get it over with and then he can wallow in self-pity with his raging headache for company. He cuts the engine and pushes open the truck door wincing when he feels a sharp pain in his shoulder. He shakes it off and goes towards the door. Before he even can get the key in, it swings open and Buck throws himself into Eddie’s arms. 

“Wow, Buck, hey, is everything okay?” Eddie asks holding on to Buck tightly. This is not what he expected. He expected Buck to yell and scream but not this. What did Bobby tell him?

Buck pulls back and slaps him across the face.  _ There it is.  _

“What if that was you?!” Buck yells, “What if you needed medical assistance?! No one would have called for you. No one would have helped you! It’s either tap out or knock out at these things Eddie, but most of the time you’re too punch drunk to even tap out!” 

Eddie’s shocked. He didn’t think Buck knew about these things. “How the hell do you know that?” he asks.

“I’m not stupid! I know enough,” he replies. Eddie can tell he’s lying. 

“Buck…”

“Look, this isn’t about me! What were you thinking Eddie?! I know you’re grieving. I know you’re stressed. I know it hurts to be rejected, Eddie, I do, but taking it out like this?! God, you could’ve died.” Buck sighs heavily.

“Look, it’s fine. Everything is fine. I’m not dead and I could die doing my job too! I risk my life everyday, what’s a couple nights?” 

“Eddie! How the hell can you be so nonchalant about this?! This is serious! Do you want Christopher and me to see you in a body bag?! Is that what you want, huh? What do you think that will do to me? What do you think that’ll do to your  _ son _ ?! He doesn’t need to see another parent dead!” Buck is angry and it’s showing in the way his face is turning red as he yells at Eddie, “I get you’re upset over Shannon leaving you. I get you feel like you weren’t enough but you are! You  _ are _ enough. You’re enough for  _ me _ ! You’re enough for  _ Christopher _ . You’re that boy’s hero! How do you think he’s going to feel when he finds out his father, his  _ hero _ , is out there doing illegal cage fights?!” 

Eddie growls, “You think I haven’t thought about all that? I have Buck, but this is working for me! It’s just a harmless way to release some pent up energy.” 

“Eddie! Are you hearing yourself?! It’s not harmless. There is nothing harmless about this. People…” Buck chokes up, “People die  _ everyday _ doing this. One wrong hit and that’s it Eddie, you’re done.” 

“Look, I need to be strong for Christopher. I need to be there for him and I can’t do that if I’m dealing with my own issues. This lets me be there for him.”

“But you’re not! You’re barely even around anymore Eddie. He misses you,  _ I  _ miss you.” Buck’s voice softens. “This is not the right way to deal with your issues. You need to talk to someone.” 

“Buck! You don’t understand,” Eddie runs a hand through his hair, “It’s not that simple.”

“Then explain it to me! Tell me what I’m not understanding! Why is it not that simple?! Is it because you’re refusing to accept you have a problem? Or is it because you’re refusing to think about anyone else other than yourself?! You say you’re doing this for Christopher, so you can be there for him, but are you really?! Are you thinking about the consequences of your actions being more than just on yourself?!” 

“That’s enough, Evan!” Eddie yells, closing his eyes tightly and clenching his hands into fists. 

“Seriously?! You just get to say when it’s enough?!” Buck questions.

“Buck… stop! I don’t want to hear this right now. I have a headache and I just want to sleep!” 

“When will you want to hear it, Eddie, because at this point one of us will be dead before you’re ready to hear the truth!” 

“Get out of my house!” Eddie yells. 

Buck flinches. God, Eddie has never raised his voice like that at Buck before. Buck takes a couple steps back. Eddie needs to cool off. Eddie isn’t going to hear anything Buck says unless he’s willing to hear it, to accept it, and he clearly isn’t ready too. 

Buck lets out a shaky sigh before taking a few more steps backwards before he turns and walks out the door. 

Eddie’s eyes fill with tears. Buck actually left, he left like Shannon left him. He isn’t enough. Buck lied. He’s broken and nobody wants to deal with him. God, Buck was just trying to help him and he lashed out. It’s his fault. 

*

Buck makes his way over to his Jeep and climbs in. He misses the man sitting in his car across the street watching him due to the tears blurring his vision. He backs out and heads home. The man following close behind him. 

_ Weaker link.  _

*

Eddie’s been calling Buck nonstop since he woke up and every single call has either been cut or just not answered. He’s left a couple dozen voicemails and he would’ve left more if there was room to leave more. 

**Eddie & Buck:**

**Eddie** _ : Buck, please answer. I’m sorry for how I acted last night. Please talk to me. _

Eddie walks into the station, he’s ready to apologize to Buck for snapping at him last night when all Buck wanted to do was help him. He thought it over last night and Buck is right. He needs help and he’s refusing to admit to the problem which is only making things worse. Buck is right, Buck is always right. 

After he gets changed he looks around for Buck. 

“Hey, Hen, you seen Buck?” he asks.

“He’s not here yet,” she replies. 

Eddie frowns Buck is usually always here before Eddie. His stomach drops thinking about Buck avoiding him but Buck wouldn’t skip work because of him would he? He pulls out his phone again.

**Eddie & Buck:**

**Eddie** _ : Evan I know you’re mad at me but showing up late to work because of it?  _

**Eddie** _ : That’s not like you. _

**Eddie** _ : Evan are you okay? _

“Listen up guys.” Bobby calls out.

Eddie slips his phone into his pocket and looks up towards Bobby who is standing by the railing at the upper part of the station. “I need Hen with Eddie today. Chimney you’ll be on your own in the ambulance unless we have a patient, then we’ll send someone back with you.”

Eddie’s heart sinks, was this going to be permanent? Did he completely fuck up last night? Was this  _ his  _ fault? Did Buck ask to be switched to be with another team? Shit. He’s near hyperventilating when Bobby smacks him on the back.

“Breathe, son.” Bobby whispers, “You’re okay.” 

Eddie snaps out of it and looks at Bobby, “Where’s Buck?” he asks.

“He sent me a text saying he wasn’t feeling well and he can’t make it in.” 

“Buck sent you a  _ text _ saying he wasn’t feeling well.  _ Buck  _ did? I don’t believe it. Did he say something to you.” Eddie asks suspiciously.

Bobby pulls out his phone and shows Eddie the text.

**Bobby & Buck: **

**Buck** :  _ Hey Bobby, not feeling too hot today, got a raging headache. Won’t be able to make it in to work today. _

Eddie frowns, “That doesn’t sound like Buck and I mean at the very least he would have called.”

“I tried calling him but it went to voicemail. He must be sleeping it off.” Bobby says, “I mean as long as he’s resting and taking care of himself I’m okay with him taking a day off. He pushes himself too hard sometimes.” 

“Yeah…” Eddie mumbles as his mind runs a mile a minute. Something seems off.

*

Eddie doesn’t know how he makes it through the day without fucking something up. His mind keeps wandering to Buck and what he said the night before. He’s missing Buck so much and he’s reminded of the time of the lawsuit all over again, one of the things that had a hand in him joining the street fighting.

He changes out of his uniform and into a loose hoodie and a pair of sweats. He quickly shoves his wallet into his pocket and makes his way to his truck. 

He calls Carla and lets her know that Buck isn’t feeling well and he’s on his way to see him so he might be a couple hours late. She tells him to take care of Buck and to not worry about Christopher. She would drop him off at his friend’s house for his sleepover. He thanks her and hangs up before hopping into his truck. 

When he pulls up to Buck’s apartment he sees his Jeep parked in its usual spot. Eddie parks in the spot beside him since Buck has two parking spots available to him. He gets out and heads up the stairs towards Buck’s apartment. On his way up he bumps into Mr. Rodriguez, an elderly gentleman who lives next door to Buck.

“Hola mijo, are you here to get some things for Evan?” he questions.

“Hola  Señor Rodríguez, what do you mean to get some things for Evan? He’s not here?” Eddie is confused, Buck’s car is parked outside.

“No, I haven’t seen him all day. I thought he parked his car and left with you.” 

“You sure he isn’t just holed up in his apartment?” Eddie asks.

“Almost. I can usually hear his music playing or him talking on the phone. I saw him outside yesterday when he pulled up but he was still in the car when I came up so I assumed he was waiting for someone. He wasn’t looking very good.” 

Eddie’s stomach clenches,  _ he wasn’t looking good?  _ Was it because of Eddie? Fuck. He shouldn’t have yelled at Buck.

“I mean he did say he had a headache this morning, so he didn’t come to work. Maybe he’s just sleeping.” 

Mr. Rodriguez shrugs, “Maybe.”

“Gracias, I’ll go look.” 

He nods and heads towards Buck’s apartment. He knocks on the door and waits. After a couple seconds he pulls out his keys and unlocks Buck’s door before stepping in.

“Buck! Evan?! You here?” He yells as he walks down the hallway. He searches the lower apartment but there’s no Buck. He heads up the stairs towards Buck’s bedroom in case he is sleeping. When he reaches the top step his stomach turns. There is no one there. It doesn’t even look like anyone had even slept in the bed last night. 

He pulls out his phone and tries Buck again. It goes straight to voicemail. He frowns, Buck wasn’t the type of person to turn his phone off. Where could he be? What if he was so upset over Eddie yelling at him last night he decided to do something stupid? What if he left him? Left like Shannon left him? Buck wouldn’t just leave everything behind would he?

Eddie can’t breathe. He stumbles over to the bed and sits down, he hangs his head between his legs as he forces himself to breathe in and then out… in… out… in…. out.

When he no longer feels like he’s going to pass out he slowly lifts his head and scrolls on his phone until he finds Maddie’s number. It rings twice before he hears her voice.

_ “Eddie?”  _

“Maddie, hey.”

_ “Hey, what’s up?” _

“I was just looking for Buck? You talk to him recently?” he asks.

_ “Uh, no, not since yesterday evening. Is everything okay?”  _ she asks. Eddie can hear the concern in her voice. 

“Oh yeah, everything is fine. I just tried to call him, he didn’t answer, I thought he might be with you. I’ll try him again. It’s fine,” Eddie replies not wanting to worry her.

_ “Ah okay. I just got home if I talk to him I’ll let him know you were looking for him. He’s probably at home.”  _

“Yeah, thanks Mads.” he says before he hangs up. 

Where could Buck be? There is no other place he could have gone. Fuck! He refrains from throwing his phone at the wall. He needs to find Buck and he needs to find him now. 

He debates on calling Athena before he gives up and dials her number.

_ “Eddie.” _

“Athena I need your help,” 

_ “What is it, boy?” _ she asks not beating around the bush.

“I need you to track Buck’s phone for me,” Eddie says.

_ “What? I thought he was at home with a headache?” _ Athena replies.

“That’s what I thought too but I’m at his apartment right now and there is no sign of him but his Jeep is still in the lot,”

_ “Okay, what if he’s just gone for a walk or something?” _ Athena says trying to go through all possible scenarios.

“Athena, I’ve been here for over an hour. He still hasn’t come back. His neighbour hasn’t seen him all day either. I don’t think he even made it into the apartment after he came home,” Eddie explains.

_ “What do you mean? Start from the beginning, Eddie.”  _

Eddie exhales. He clenches his jaw before forcing himself to relax. He starts from the beginning. He tells her about the fighting. He tells her about his talk with Bobby. He tells her about Bobby telling Buck. He tells her about the way he lashed out at Buck and how Buck had left. 

_ “Eddie, you know that boy doesn’t deal with people’s anger very well.” _ Eddie can just see her disapproving glare.

He closes his eyes tightly, “I know. I know, I’m sorry I wasn’t thinking,” he says. “Please, can you help me? I’m worried about him.” 

_ “I don’t think it’s me you need to apologize to,” _

“I’ll apologize to Evan but first I need to find him.” 

_ “Let me see what I can find. It might take some time if his phone is off.” _ Athena says.

Something hits Eddie as he’s hanging up. His eyes go wide as saucers. “Wait! Athena!” ,

_ “Yeah?”  _

“I… I know it’s not like Buck to disappear like this but… but what if someone… what if someone took him…” Eddie chokes out.

_ “What? Are you saying someone kidnapped Buck?” _ Athena asks in shock.

“I… I might have not thought about the consequences of calling 9-1-1 at the cage fight.” Eddie growls. Those fighters were seriously pissed and they knew coming after him was going to have no effect. Fuck! He should’ve known better. Buck was right! His actions can have consequences on someone other than himself. Buck is paying for the consequences of  _ his  _ actions. 

_ “Eddie! Breathe! Look we don’t know for sure that he’s been kidnapped.” _ Athena tries to calm him. 

“Athena this is my fault. I should’ve thought about this. I should’ve listened to him. Fuck!” 

“Eddie! Snap out of it. You’re of no use to Buck like this.” 

Eddie nods, taking a deep breath even though Athena can’t see him. “Okay, okay. What do you need me to do?”

“There is nothing you can do. I need to track his phone first.” 

“I can’t just sit around waiting! Those guys aren’t ones to play around Athena!” 

“Look, yelling at me isn’t going to help him either.” 

“Athena…”

“Eddie, we’ll find him.” 

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” 

“Come to the police station. We’ll see what we can do.” she says.

“Okay, I’ll be there soon.” 

Eddie hangs up and rushes down the stairs. He grabs his keys off the table and locks up before running to his truck. Before getting in he looks towards Buck’s Jeep. Oh, this is  _ not _ good. 

He calls Athena again, “Athena, Buck’s phone is in his Jeep.” He pulls on the handle and the door opens. “The doors unlocked.” 

“Don’t touch the phone, someone may have planted it there because you said he texted this morning so whoever had his phone put it back there to mislead us.” 

“Okay.” Eddie’s heart is beating wildly in his chest. Where is Buck? Is he okay? He can’t help but blame himself. He’s so caught up in his thoughts he doesn’t sense someone approaching him. 

He does, however, feel the unmistakable cold barrel of a gun touch the back of his neck. He jerks his hand down quickly slipping his still connected phone into his pocket.

“If you want to see your precious boy toy again, come with us.” It’s one of the fighters from the other night. 

He clenches his jaw, “Where is he?! What did you do to him?!” 

“He’s fine… for now… just thought you should see what happens when you go against us.” 

“I’m going to kill you,” Eddie threatens. 

“I don’t think you’re in a position to make threats. Keep walking. Let’s go have some fun, shall we?” 

Eddie lets the guy lead him over to their car and gets in. Two other guys come in on either side of him, boxing him in. Another two get into the front. 

“Where are we going?” he asks.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” he replies before covering Eddie’s eyes with a blindfold and tying his hands up with rope.

_ That’s not going to help Athena find them. He needs a name. He hopes it’s easier for her to trace his phone since it’s still connected to her.  _

*

They get to a shady looking abandoned building. 

“What are we doing here?” he asks again. “There’s nothing here, it’s literally an abandoned building,” he tries to clue in Athena. 

“Shut up, keep walking.” They lead him around back and down a couple stairs before they rap on the door. It swings open allowing them to slip in. Eddie takes in the scene before him. It’s crowded, a lot more crowded than the place he was going to before. 

“Seriously? Back entrances? Why did you bring me here? I thought you didn’t want me to fight around you guys anymore?” he asks. 

“Oh we don’t. We want you to watch someone else fight.” 

“What? I’m not interested in watching others fight,” Eddie growls. “Where’s Buck?!” 

“Oh you’ll be interested in watching this one fight.” 

“What are you talking about?! Look you have a problem with me then fight me, hurt me, do whatever you want to me but let Evan go. None of this is his fault.” 

“Yes, none of this is his fault but he’s facing the consequences of your actions because you clearly don’t care what happens to you.”

“What the hell are you talking about?!” Eddie growls growing frustrated by the second. 

“Look up there.” he says point with his gun. 

Eddie’s heart drops because standing there in the cage is a bruised Buck. 

*

** _24 Hours Earlier_ **

_ Buck parks in his designated spot taking a breath, trying to clear his head. He looks up and spots Mr. Rodriguez going into the building. He waves to Buck and Buck gives the man a small smile and a wave. He watches the man disappear into the building as his mind wanders to Eddie again. How is he going to get Eddie to understand that what he’s doing is hurting his family? _

_ He grabs his phone and pulls out his keys from the ignition. He opens the door and hops out of his Jeep. A man comes around his Jeep and steps in front of him. _

_ “Hey, you okay?” Buck asks the man.  _

_ “Oh yeah, I’m fine but you won’t be,” he says. The man has an ugly scar going down the side of his forehead.  _

_ “What?” Buck’s eyebrows knit together in confusion.  _

_ The man pulls out a gun pointing it at him. Three other men surround him, all holding guns.  _

_ “Wow! Hey! Who are you guys?!” Buck puts up his hands. _

_ “Come with us.”  _

_ “What? No! I’m not going anywhere with you. Who the hell are you guys?” he asks. _

_ The man in front of him punches him in the face. Buck stumbles back into the side of his jeep. _

_ “If you want to stay alive and if you want Diaz to stay alive you come with us.” the man spits.  _

_ Buck’s eyes widen and he nods. _

_ * _

_ They bring Buck to a small room and tie him to a chair.  _

_ “What the hell do you guys want?!” Buck yells. _

_ “Revenge!”  _

_ “Revenge for what?!” _

_ “You really think Diaz could just waltz into our place, our home, and fuck it up for us and we wouldn’t do anything?!”  _

_ “He saved a life!”  _

_ “We cage fight! People die all the time! It’s nothing new!”  _

_ “You guys are monsters.” Buck yells. _

_ “YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT’S LIKE. You think we’re monsters?” he smirks. “Looks like you need to have a step into our shoes,” the fighter looks towards his pals, “Guess I just figured out what to do with him.”  _

_ They smirk back.  _

_ * _

_ “Man, this guy’s phone has been ringing nonstop since this morning.” one of the fighters complains. _

_ “Turn it off.” another says. _

_ “Wait, message his boss first. We don’t need people getting suspicious.”  _

_ “How the hell am I supposed to know who his boss is?”  _

_ “Scroll through his contacts.”  _

_ “There’s one that says Captain Nash. I’ve heard Diaz talk about him to Bosco once.”  _

_ “Do that one, if it’s wrong we’ll reply that it was an accident.”  _

_ He nods and fires off a message. A couple minutes he gets a reply.  _

_ “We’re good.”  _

_ “Okay, drive around with it for a while and then turn it off and put it back in his car. We don’t need people tracking us to the new location.”  _

_ * _

_ “Hey wake up!”  _

_ Buck wakes up with a start after he receives a stinging slap across his face.  _

_ “Come on pretty boy, time for you debut fight.”  _

_ “What the hell are you talking about?!” Buck yells. “Like hell if I’m fighting anyone.”  _

_ “You’re going to have to. Either you fight or you get beaten to the ground.” _

_ “So you’d just kill me because I refused to fight?”  _

_ “We changed the rules for you, fight till one of you dies. No tap outs.”  _

_ Buck’s eyes widen in horror.  _

*

**Present**

“No…” Eddie whispers horrified. “No, you can’t. Look I fucked up. I shouldn’t have called 9-1-1. Listen you can put me in there and make me fight how many ever people you want, but  _ please _ , don’t make him do this.” 

There is no way Eddie can fight these many guys off to help Buck. He has no way other than pleading. 

“Where’s the fun in that?” the fighter taunts. “Starting in two! Place your bets! OH YEAH ALSO NEW RULE FOR THIS FIGHT. IT’S TILL DEATH!” 

People cheer around them and Eddie feels like all the air in the room has been sucked out. “NO! YOU CAN’T DO THAT!” 

“We can and we have.” 

Eddie tries to get to Buck but two of the guys hold him back. 

*

They toss Buck gloves and he catches them. He holds them with shaky hands, looking at them. He promised himself he wouldn’t end up like  _ him,  _ but he needs to fight back. He thinks about Christopher, he thinks about Maddie, he thinks about Bobby, he thinks about Eddie. He can’t leave them alone. Just this once. He’s not like  _ him _ . He won’t turn into  _ him _ . He won’t let Eddie turn into  _ him _ . 

He takes a deep breath and slips on the gloves. He just needs to knock the guy out. No one is dying tonight. Not if he can help it.

He looks out in the crowd and sees Eddie with his hands tied and two men holding him back from coming towards Buck. He looks so scared. A small twisted part of his mind is happy that Eddie is finally seeing what he’s been doing to everyone else. Seeing his fights from a different perspective. The perspective of his family. 

He turns to look at his opponent, Phoenix. He’s a big beefy guy who’s easily double his size and he’s got a couple inches on Buck.

Buck lowers his center and squares his shoulders bringing his hands up to be in front of his face. 

*

Eddie struggles against the hold of the two men as he watches Buck get into a proper fighting stance. He didn’t even think Buck knew how to fight, but he looks almost…  _ confident? _

The bell rings and Phoenix is immediately moving. Buck circles making sure to stay across from him at all times. Phoenix steps forward and goes for a jab. Buck steps back avoiding the punch. Phoenix goes in for a cross and Buck ducks under it taking the opening and punching the side of his face. 

Eddie watches with bated breath as the crowd cheers. 

Buck bounces on his feet coming up behind Phoenix. Phoenix lets out a growl turning to look at him. It seemed like Phoenix was going easy on Buck before because after the punch he comes at Buck with a new fierceness. Buck manages to duck and avoid all his punches and kicks until he doesn’t.

Phoenix finally manages to land a punch, getting him under the jaw. The force of it knocks Buck off balance. 

“EVAN!” Eddie’s stomach sinks as he sees blood pouring out of his mouth. “Fuck! STOP! He’s on blood thinners! Let me fight in his place. Please!” Eddie cries. He shakes loose one of the guys before two more are on him. One of them punches him, cutting his lower lip.

“WATCH!” he snaps.

Eddie gets it. He gets it now. He gets what Bobby and Buck have been trying to explain to him. He gets what Lena was saying. It’s more than just about him when he’s up there. The feelings he has when he is up in the cage is nothing compared to what he’s feeling now, watching Buck up there, not knowing if he’s going to be okay. He knows how Buck feels and he was so damn stupid to not see it earlier. His stubbornness and him refusing to admit he has a problem has led them to here. Led Buck to get hurt. Fuck!

Phoenix manages to get Buck on his back and brings his knee down hard on his stomach. Buck lets out a pained grunt as he brings his legs up and kicks Phoenix off him. He rolls away quickly and gets to his feet. 

“So not a boring fight like we were imagining, huh?” one of the fighters jokes. 

Eddie wants to throttle him. He manages to undo his ropes and he goes for the man. He punches him across the face and grabs him by the neck, “YOU THINK THIS IS FUN?! ONE OF THEM IS GOING TO DIE!” he spits.

A couple other fighters pull him off and punch him in his already bruised ribs. He groans, sucking in a deep breath. A fighter grabs him by the chin and forces him to continue watching.

Buck is bruised and bloody but he’s not giving up. Phoenix isn’t looking too hot either. Phoenix comes at him again and Buck ducks under his arm and spins around to slam his elbow down hard on the back of his neck. Phoenix goes down immediately. One of the biggest rules in MMA, don’t fucking let anyone have access to the back of your neck. 

*

“SHIT WE’VE GOT COPS!” someone yells over the loud cheering. 

At that everyone scrambles. Athena and a couple dozen police officer swarm in wearing tactical gear. The block off all the entrances and get everyone in cuffs. They point their assault rifles at the men surrounding Eddie until they drop their guns and raise their hands. 

Eddie ignores them and runs towards the cage. He pulls open the gate and rushes towards Buck tossing him against the chainlink fencing. Buck goes back with a gasp, the fence rattling as Buck’s back hits it. Eddie grips his waist and slams his lips against Buck’s, ignoring the taste of copper and salt. He licks his way into Buck’s mouth, their blood mingling. Buck moans in surprise as he shakes off his gloves and grips Eddie’s face in between his hands pulling him closer. 

“Fuck!” Eddie pulls back with a gasp, pressing his forehead against Buck’s. “I thought I was going to lose you today. I’m sorry. I was a fucking idiot. You and Christopher are the only two things I fear losing and I was stupid I didn’t see what me fighting could do to you both and I’m so damn sorry. I’m sorry, I promise it won’t happen again.”

“Good.” Buck whispers before leaning in and kissing Eddie again. 

“You two mean so much to me and I almost lost you. I almost lost you because of my own stupid mistakes. My refusal to accept that I need help.” 

“At least you get it now,” Buck teases. “If only I knew me fighting would get you to see my point I would’ve done it a lot sooner.”

Eddie growls, “Buck this is not funny.” 

Buck laughs and then winces when it sends a searing pain down his side. 

“Fuck are you hurt? Let me see,” Eddie pokes and prods at Buck until Buck grabs his hand and puts it back on his waist. 

“I’m fine. Just hold me.” Buck whispers.

Eddie wraps his arms tighter around Buck’s waist holding him up as Buck rests his head against Eddie’s shoulder. 

*

After Athena had gotten their statements and everything was sorted out, Bobby had shown up in a rage. He yelled at the both of them for being idiots and then pulled them both into a tight hug. Then he dropped them both off at Buck’s apartment since Eddie’s truck was there. Eddie is so glad Christopher is at his sleepover. 

He helps Buck into his apartment and leads him to the bathroom. 

Buck bats at Eddie’s hands when he tries to help him sit on the toilet. “Eddie, I’m fine. I can sit.” 

Eddie huffs but doesn’t argue with him. He pulls out the first aid kit and grabs everything he needs. He goes to work cleaning and wiping the injuries, wincing as he does. Buck notices Eddie looks like he’s going to be sick.

“You pretend to be such a macho man but you can’t handle this?” Buck taunts. 

“It’s not funny, Buck.” Eddie growls as he continues to clean up Buck’s injuries. He grabs Buck’s hands. His knuckles are bruised a lot more than they should be due to the fact he didn’t have wraps on under the gloves. He gently wipes away the blood. 

“I never said it was. What do you think it did to me seeing you like this everyday?” Buck asks hissing as the antiseptic solution seeps into his cuts.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I just needed an outlet for my anger, for my guilt. I couldn’t see what it was doing to my family. I’ve been horrible to you these past couple of weeks because I was angry at you for the lawsuit. I’m sorry I yelled at you in the grocery store. I know you’re not Shannon and I know you aren’t going to leave us like she did but my mind couldn’t help but think of the worst case scenarios and in doing so I actually almost lost you.” 

“Eddie…” Buck stands and turns their positions, forcing Eddie to sit down on the closed lid of the toilet. “Look, I know you are upset that Shannon left but you have to understand that it wasn’t your fault. She just wasn’t ready to have a family and that’s not on you, baby. Eddie, you’re a wonderful man, an amazing father and anyone would be lucky to be with you. You’re so caring and loving yet so fierce and protective.” 

Eddie’s eyes are filling up with tears as Buck sinks to his knees in front of him. 

“I don’t deserve you.” Eddie whispers, “I’ve been nothing but awful to you for the past couple of weeks. You got  _ kidnapped _ because of me yet here you are trying to help me feel better.”

“Eddie I’m only telling the truth. Don’t say you don’t deserve me because you do. You deserve me and you deserve everything good in the world. I love you and you’re enough. You  _ are _ enough. I am not her. I’m not leaving you and I’m not leaving Christopher. You two are my world and I can’t think of a single place I rather be.”

“Dios Buck, I don’t deserve everything good in the world but you definitely do and I want to be the one to give it to you. I want to give you everything good in the world but I don’t know if I can.” A tear slips down Eddie’s face. 

Buck wipes it away with his thumb. “Eddie Diaz, I love you and I’m here for you. You can take as long as you’d like to give me everything good because I’m not leaving your side for as long as you’ll have me.” Buck says firmly. 

“How about forever?” Eddie asks in a shaky voice. 

“Forever then.” Buck beams at him and Eddie can’t help but lean in and kiss him. 

When he pulls back he searches Buck’s eyes. 

“What?” he asks. 

“You want to tell me where you learned to fight like that?” Eddie asks. 

Buck groans, “That is a whole ‘nother story and I’m too tired for it. All I want to do right now is take some advil and sleep. Also I demand cuddles from you for getting me kidnapped. Then tomorrow we can go find a MMA veteran’s gym for you to workout at so you have a healthy outlet and also find you nice a therapist.” he says standing up and pulling Eddie along with him. 

“Whatever you want, Evan. I’ll listen to you and do as you say. I promise.” Eddie replies. 

“Good cause I need you to know that you are enough and I need you to believe it.”

“I’ll believe it. As long as you are with me, I’ll believe it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come join us on the buddie discord --> [Link](https://discord.gg/7Qz9Ca4)
> 
> Follow me on tumblr [@bamfbuddie](https://bamfbuddie.tumblr.com/) and ask Eddie questions [@askeddiediaz-118](https://askeddiediaz-118.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Kudos are love, comments keep me going.


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